A time capsule of the greatest financial mania in the history of mankind, told in real-time by regular folks and patriots. May future generations better understand the madness of crowds, and how power and money corrupt.

I bought a house. Some ask why? I rented for a year and now payments are what it costs me to rent and I found a nice house in a nice location so I figured it was time to buy. The Foreclosures are a joke. They all need $25,000 worth of work to make one livable. The one I bought was a For Sale By Owner also saved 6% and that was passed on to me.Not a Foreclosure Not a short sale just a nice house for sale by owner. I hope I am not blogging about my own house on my own blog. icantsellmyhouse.blogspot.com

One of the most important Supreme Court decisions in the last 100 years and not a word about it so I take it that this 5-4 opinion basically upholding an Amendment To Our Constitution is not that well liked as a 5-4 giving our enemy who want to kill you and I access to American Courts. Some people may not want to have a firearm in their home and that is fine but don't tell me that I can't. The citizens of New Orleans who stayed behind for whatever reason during Katrina were able to protect themselves because most had a firearm and the ones who did not wished they did.

I've always felt that the NRA was fighting a straw man. All that paranoia about people wanting to take guns away and stuff.

As a lefty, we have more important things to talk about: Health care, Civil Rights, Protecting the environment, Education, living wages, protecting social security.

Gun control, was always way, way down on any liberal's list. Even then, it was only about limits... something that the court specifically addressed when it said that the 2nd admendment is not unlimted.

I guess what I'm saying is that few people care what's in Charlton Heston's cold dead hands.

just saw something amazing on t.v. on the show "History Detectives". a lady wanted to have them investigate whether a continental congress-issued six dollar bill was authentic. then they started talking about how its value was continuously diluted until it held no value by the end of the war. an expert even read a quote from Ben Franklin, stating in essence "hey, what a great thing we got. we can get goods and services with this bill and devalue it to the point where we don't have to pay anything back" ! as the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. the u.s. govt has been screwing the little guy before it even officially existed!

GERSH: There's no chance the housing mess will disappear any time soon. Many adjustable rate mortgages taken out in 2005 and 2006 have yet to reset to higher rates, which is why economist Mark Zandi, who is also an unpaid advisor to the McCain campaign, expects over a million foreclosures a year for the next couple of years.

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ECONOMY.COM: Those are staggering numbers. In a more normal economy, we lose, homeowners lose about 500,000 homes a year. So even out in 2010 and 2011, I think the lost homes will be double what we see in a normal year.

For China these days it seems that nothing - not rising energy prices; not sanctions aimed at its more unsavory business partners, Myanmar and Sudan; not even the prospect of a nuclear Iran - can curb its thirst for oil.

It's coming folks. Get ammo. Get food. Wait and see what happens when China starts buying oil from Iran. The powers to be are not going to let it happen. Not to mention that this would be a perfect time with the election coming up to declare a state of emergency and initiate martial law. Think I am crazy? Don't think that this can happen? Do the research for yourself. Bush took care of all the pesky paperwork to make it happen and the dems just sat back and watched. This country is toast.

Varmint - that's just taking "RealtWhore" to its logical conclusion. The article mentions that her 14y.o. daughter is embarrassed. I bet! Reminds me of that guy in LV who was selling his swingin' house complete with cute young female roommate.

I've been working on a "Casey's Greatest Hits" MP3 collection for the past few months. Basically, I've listened to 50+ hours of talkcasts and made a Cliff Notes' version condensed into about 2.5 hours with all of the most entertaining and hilarious moments:

-MSINGH, LossMittPro and Duane getting angry-Mocha and Pink Lips-and much more

I've scheduled a talkcast for this Friday, July 4 at 9:00 PM Eastern Time:

Before I upload the final results of my work, I will host a talkcast (for 2 hours) where I will play selected 'tracks' of the collection and then take calls from listeners to discuss and reminisce about the highs and lows of the Casey Serin saga.

You can also listen to a few samples of my work (I call them "SINGLES") from the link above.

Alan Greenspan’s soothing words onAmerica’s housing market in 2005 rank highon history’s list of infamous predictions: "Adestabilizing contraction in America’s nationwidehouse prices does not seem the mostprobable outcome. Nominal house prices inthe aggregate have rarely fallen and certainlynot by very much." But to be fair, mostAmerican economists shared his view that itwas highly unlikely that average nationwidehome prices would drop. That was the sort ofthing that happened only during a deepdepression, like the 1930s. Unfortunately,new figures this week reveal that houseprices have already fallen by more over thepast 12 months than in any year during theGreat Depression.Economist (London), 31 May 08

Ed: This chart is now at its lowest level in90 years, lower than what we call the "FirstGreat Depression," albeit not a "crash" yet.

Obama to keep to teleprompted set speeches in front of enthusiastic crowds, avoiding as much as possible press conferences, off-the-cuff venting with donors, interviews with neutral correspondents, town halls, and one-on-ones with McCain.

Reading a speech off a teleprompter isn't the the most important requirement for becoming president.

Can someone clear this up for me? A friend told me that they were going to put their house up for sale AFTER the election because she said that houses always go up in value after an election. I asked her where she heard that, and she just replied it's always happenend that way. Has anyone ever heard of that in a "normal" housing cycle?

When all else fails and you are facing the foreclosure bus its time to get creative...this lady did...She is selling the one thing that has always had value through the ages...Thats right...She is giving up the coochy.

People hold up the 1930's Great Depression as being the absolute bottom! I have news for them. Ask any German or Russian what it is to be in a "bad economy". Things can be worse than the "depression". Just wait until auntie and grandma are eating dog food or maybe even the dog and cat. I'm sending all my relatives can openers just in case they need to open up some yummy Alpo!

She is like two big housing bubble illusions that will entrap you into a lifetime of Hades on earth.

Millions were duped exactly this way 5 years ago. They ignored the problems and wanted to score. Any real estate back when was a "sure thing" that would put you on top while everyone else was left in debt.

Just like this age-defying siren calling some unlucky man to the rocks of disaster.

Thanks for the URL, that was an interesting, quick read. I loved this part: "Coupled with a very low personal savings rate, this means that many people will only have Social Security and Medicare to rely on in their retirement"

Poor boomers. They were so busy keeping up they forgot to think and save for themselves.

I don't understand why some people are looking for a bottom in stocks right now.

Look at this chart of the Dow:

http://tinyurl.com/2sva9z

In 2003, the Dow was at 8,000. It blew up to 14,000+ based on earnings from all the HELOC money and free credit that was being thrown around the economy.

We all know house prices are going to reset to 2003 levels or earlier. In some areas, they already have. So why is it so absurd to suggest that the Dow will go back to its pre-boom level, too?

And no - it's not just about P/E ratios. A P/E is calculated based on CURRENT earnings. Guess what happens when those earnings go in the toilet? That's where corporate earnings are heading. The credit bubble is over. It was fun while it lasted, but we're in for a good decade or so of reality.

So let's stop talking about what % off housing prices and stock prices are from their phony peak. It doesn't matter. It's an irrelevant point of reference. Investing in some "bargain" house or stock just because it is a certain % off of some arbitrary number is stupidity.

SEATTLE -- Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday it will close 600 company-operated stores in the next year, up dramatically from its previous plan for 100 closures, a sign the coffee shop operator continues to struggle with the faltering U.S. economy and its own rapid expansion.

This is a story that I particularly like. Why? Starbucks coffee is the worst coffee in the world...Hot, bitter, acidic. In short, it sucks. Starbucks fans and Humvee owners need a new planet.

Doesn't anyone realize how far away we are from becoming a third world country? Don't think it can happen? YouTube the LA Riots, New Orleans or even the newly liberated Iraq. If there is another homebrew attack generated and our supply lines are disrupted it won't take long. Imagine millions of people fleeing an area with no supplies. Do you think these nice city folk will be civilized and friendly when they are starving to death? Do you think the local and state governments will know how to deal with the situation? Would there be martial law declared? Suspension of habeas corpus? Super fun time group camps?

Do you really think that stocks, bonds, CD's and even metals (even though I am guilty of buying some of that) will be worth anything when the irradiated oil fields are on fire?

Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.

The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a "super super jumbo." Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.

Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama's rate could have saved him more than $300 per month.

A new take on the "buy & bail" strategy that allows you to bail first and buy later while simultaneously providing a revenue stream for your parents during retirement (as long as your parents have properly saved for retirement). Go ahead & bail on your overpriced cr@pbox and take the hit on your credit. Then later when you want to buy you take a private or intra-family mortgage from your parents (or any relative) who will tap their retirement savings to fund the loan. The lender gets to set the interest rate and get a retirment income stream just as if its an annuity. The borrower gets to take the mortgage interest tax deduction, does not have to worry about the blemish the bail put on their credit history and does not have to deal with all the BS the banks are dishing out nowadays to get a loan along with all the junk fees banks pack into the transaction. In fact the parent/lender can feel more certain that the loan will be paid because you do not have an overpriced cr@pbox/debt trap draining your wallet every month.

The greatest beauty of it all is that the wealth stays in the family & does not go to all the parasites that exist in real estate transactions and mortgage debt servicing. No PMI, no junk fees, etc., etc.

The key ingredients are two relatives who implicitly trust each other and each having the necessary financial prudence to see it through. Good Luck!!

She told me "you're the most unpleasant person I've ever met." And "I can't wait for my son to meet up with you in court, he's going to wipe the floor with you."

Why? Because when I went to go look at a house I insisted on reading the disclosure first rather than looking around.

She said "you're not giving the house a chance." I said "there is no point in liking a house if it needs a lot of work" and continued to read.

Anyway, it really, really set me off. She kept on saying "you need to fall in LOVE." And I was all "it's a freaking house lady, not my husband."

So...then I got home and I google stalked her. I think I know why she was in such a foul mood. She and her other realtor husband bought a place in '07 for 700k, no land, high taxes because it's new, no way to pay for it.

But anyway. After looking at how much she must owe and how few homes have sold in my area in the past 6 months I realize I was wrong. I should have ignored everything she said, she was just trying to have some control over the situation.

I gotta tell you guys, something just doesn't feel right. The DOW has been REALLY tanking lately, its july 2, and i suspect something is gonna really pop soon, an announcement on the early evening of the third, or the fourth of this month, some big co going down in flames, somethhing! I don't know exactly what, but I'm afraid something is underway...-JDF

Some fun with fire reporting from "it's different here Southern Maryland."

Fires in the past week.

First one, the story doesn't mention it being in foreclosure, but it is:

"The destroyed house apparently has quite a history with local law enforcement. There are reports that the house was vacant and that the owner was told not to trespass on the property. However, the house was the frequent scene of drug arrests."

"Neighbors report that vagrants would break into the house to smoke crack on a number of occasions. One neighbor stated, “Police were always there, even after they kicked out the previous owners, the deadbeats kept coming back.”

Do you remember when a couple years ago n korea launched their nuke? they chose july 3rd on purpose there! I am saying somehting like that may happen again, boy I hope not! Just feels like somethign is inn the air!!!-JDF

"So I went to the beach for a few days. Place was packed, jam packed. Nightlife crazy with people spending money.

Then I come back home, read the news, read blogs and I'm back to doom and gloomsville."

I went to the beach, too. I've never seen so many overweight tattooed people in my life! HEY, get a tan (lay off the sunblock and get some vitamin D for heaven's sake). Party like there's no tomorrow...might as well.

Well, the second half of 2008 is officially here. Yun says house prices throughout most of the US are supposed to be rising through the end of this year. Are we seeing that or at least will we be seeing that before 2008 ends?

"WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Home sales and prices throughout most of the country are poised for improvement in the second half of 2008, and the recovery will vary by market, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors(R) said today during NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo."

You people need to get out a little more. Getting out of your momma's basement might do you some good"

You must go to the beach a lot because I feel like I've read this before. There's nothing wrong with going to the beach. There is something wrong with the corrupt financial and real estate cartels. We should all be upset about it, and yes people are suffering.

"So I went to the beach for a few days. Place was packed, jam packed. Nightlife crazy with people spending money.

Then I come back home, read the news, read blogs and I'm back to doom and gloomsville.

You people need to get out a little more. Getting out of your momma's basement might do you some good."

I think what we are seeing is people adjusting. Like everything else adverse that happens - there are people that embrace it, find ways around it, accept it and deal with it. Then there are others that simply moan and complain that everything sucks and will only get worse. Add in a pinch (more like a torrent) of media hype and it seems like the sky IS falling. Believe me, it is for some, but not for all. Like my dad used to say "It is a recession when your neighbor loses his job, it is a depression when you lose yours" It is all about perspective. Only in the year 2008 there is 80 news outlets, internet blogs, news wires etc. all sharing the worst of it with all of us. It also effects more of us since many more people have 401K's now and are more adversely affected by the movements of the stock market. During past recessions, the stock market meant very little to the average person. However there is a silver lining in all of this. How many people are going to go out and vote now, and hopefully become more engaged in how Washington has been screwing this country out of it's savings for years. When everyone is fat and happy, things are easier to slide by, and they pay attention to stupid issues like gay marriage. But when hard times hit, and the Emperors in Washington suddenly have no clothes, then change happens. No one gave a rats ass about MPG ratings on vehicles, just another number on the sticker - now it is the number 2 observed statistic next to price on a car sticker. Green buildings were for nuts in mountain communities, now they are being designed and built by mainstream architects and corporations. How much stronger do you think this country will emerge once people are again forced to think, conserve, vote for politicians that actually have platforms instead of fluff and people demand better leadership. Guarantee that a moron like GW Bush would not have been elected if people were not fat on the good times from the 90's. In the future this could end up being a turning point in our country - the days that awakened the sheep from their slumber, and forced leaders to be accountable again.

"People hold up the 1930's Great Depression as being the absolute bottom! I have news for them. Ask any German or Russian what it is to be in a "bad economy". Things can be worse than the "depression". Just wait until auntie and grandma are eating dog food or maybe even the dog and cat. I'm sending all my relatives can openers just in case they need to open up some yummy Alpo!"

Agreed, however I think that the Great Depression is the bottom that people will put up with here. I can only imagine the level of civil unrest that would come about if we had greater than a 25% unemployment rate and a greater level of poverty than the depression. Let's put it this way, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton would be begging for the photogs compared to what would happen to them if they ventured outdoors in that type of environment. Rich people would have to move out of their gated communities and relocate to Iraq style military installations. the class warfare would become real warfare. I think many of the rich would "hide out" in bad neighborhoods and drive old cars just so noone knew they were rich. TV personalities might as well just leave, cause they would be targets. I would change my career to personal security specialist and buy stock in protection companies like Blackwater.

Howd that work out for ya, lets see Dow at 11215 today and continued weakness. That is only a 2785 point drop. Probably 3000+ before the moron in the Whitehouse is shown the door. Are you Republican by any chance? Can you be my financial advisor? I will do exactly opposite of what you say - I will be a millionaire in no time.

Anonymous July 02, 2008 10:39 PM,You miss the point, We will NEVER have conditions like those of the 1930's again! Whoever gave you that 25% unemployment figure, I would bet 10$ to a hat pin that they forgot to cook those numbers! Didn't anyone ever 'give up' looking for work in the 30's? Is output actually negative this quarter? Well, just adjust for "inflation"! Still not good enough? Well, report GDP as 1% higher than it actually is anyway, then in a couple of months when we are all done patting ourselves on the back for avoiding recession and no one is paying attention anymore, let the real numbers slip out, like on the evening of July 3rd or something... -JDF

Can someone clear this up for me? A friend told me that they were going to put their house up for sale AFTER the election because she said that houses always go up in value after an election. I asked her where she heard that, and she just replied it's always happenend that way. Has anyone ever heard of that in a "normal" housing cycle?

"So I went to the beach for a few days. Place was packed, jam packed. Nightlife crazy with people spending money.

Then I come back home, read the news, read blogs and I'm back to doom and gloomsville.

You people need to get out a little more. Getting out of your momma's basement might do you some good."

So I went to work today and everybody there was working.

Then I came home and read that unemployment is up.

Yeah that is exactly how stupid your post was. Just because you go on vacation and everybody else who is on vacation is having fun does not mean that everything is great. It is this kind of disconnected "thinking" that has put this country in the state it is in. Acting like you are rich does not make you rich.

Hope you enjoyed your little holiday. If you go next year I bet the beach won't be near as crowded.

Average wage up to $18.01/hr. People who have stopped looking for work are estimated in the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment numbers.

http://tinyurl.com/dje47

According to posters on HP, everyone is being laid off in favor of low-paying McWalJobs, there are no manufacturing jobs in America, the BLS numbers do not count people who have stopped looking for work, etc. etc...

Someone posted in a thread here that just because you don't see it for yourself doesn't mean it isn't happening. So who are you going to believe, some reporter you don't know with an agenda, or yourself?

The answer to your your question is absolutely not. The housing market is not the stockmarket. This is the Titanic that has barely crashed into the iceberg.An election will not save this ship no matter who is elected.

Check out the historical charts on real estate and you will notice the length of the cycles. We have already lost over 20% in Ca. in just over 6 mths. as opposed to the 90's taking 6 years.

Buy some popcorn and tune into youtube videos of MR. MORTGAGE!I am certain you may get a couple of answers to your questions.

There were over 60,000 jobs cut, but the unemployment rate stayed the same???Did the person that wrote the news today read what they were writing?How can a bunch of workers get laid-off and unemployment remains the same?I know we need new jobs to be created, just to keep unemployment the same (to makeup for the expanding population).Can there be a more bold-faced lie than this?

I learned a new phrase today, thanks to UBS....they are reporting 'below break-even' earnings...instead of a loss.LMFAO.It's a beautiful world we live in...I just sometimes wish we were treated as if we weren't complete imbeciles. On second thought.....

Given the current situation below if you were the Federal Reserve ask yourself the question is this the time to create more growth or stop inflation.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121520753147729275.html

In another sign of the harsh toll being exacted by the economic downturn, the number of Americans unemployed for six months or more has risen sharply over the past year and is likely to increase even more.

The number of people unemployed for at least 26 weeks has risen to 1.6 million -- up 37% in the past year.

That is almost double the percentage increase for the overall unemployed, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday.

More than 18% of the unemployed have been looking for work for more than half a year, compared with about 11% at the start of the 2001 recession.

"This year already we've seen the Minx closing, the Mensa club closing, and the Crazy Horse closing," says Dolores Eliades, owner of the OG, the second biggest "adult cabaret" venue in the world. "By another 12 months from now, I expect another two or three major venues will have gone."

It definitely feels like the eerie "calm before the storm"...I can't explain it either, other than no matter how hard Ben & Co. tries to keep all the plates spinning, there is SO MUCH SHYTT coming at him now, that they just can't keep manipulating the whole thing that much longer...

Have you all noticed Paulsen's big emphasis lately in speeches about the fact that big companies must be allowed to fail--??

I think they realize the tide is pulling out, the tsunami is coming--not much to do now but grab beer and head for the highest land...

I suggest you do your homework and realize just how similar our economic situation is to what happened *prior* to the Great Depression of the 1930's.

If our government doesn't handle this right (and they haven't so far), that's exactly where this country is headed.

From the tone of your posting, you appear to still be doing well. Well, I can say the same as you, but that doesn't mean there isn't big trouble *already* happening for many citizens.

Venture outside of your neighborhood, just look around and keep an openmind, and you'll (hopefully) begin to see just how bad things are getting out there in many parts of our country - which is especially true here in Southern Ca.

Anonymous said... Anonymous July 02, 2008 10:39 PM,You miss the point, We will NEVER have conditions like those of the 1930's again! Whoever gave you that 25% unemployment figure, I would bet 10$ to a hat pin that they forgot to cook those numbers! Didn't anyone ever 'give up' looking for work in the 30's? Is output actually negative this quarter? Well, just adjust for "inflation"! Still not good enough? Well, report GDP as 1% higher than it actually is anyway, then in a couple of months when we are all done patting ourselves on the back for avoiding recession and no one is paying attention anymore, let the real numbers slip out, like on the evening of July 3rd or something... -JDF

It's so funny reading this blog. Unemployment is at 5.5% and you tools act like it's at 25.5%. In the 90s when Clinton was in office and unemployment was in the 5-6% range, it was an economic boom. Now it's a second great depression.

Just goes to show how gullible most people are. CNN says it's doom and gloom and you sheep march lock in step baaahhing all the way.

Oh no gas is at $4 and so it must be the end of the world. Until you realize that as a % of your income gas is less than 1%. But that would require some actual thinking, which it appears that vast majority of people are incapable of doing.

The median home sale price in the city of Cleveland has dropped an astonishing 75 percent compared with the first six months of last year - from $62,000 to $15,500.

Maple Heights, Garfield Heights, Euclid, Bedford Heights, Warrensville Heights, East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and South Euclid - communities that have had large numbers of foreclosures - have seen precipitous declines in home prices this year as well.

Countywide, the glut of foreclosed homes has sent the median sales price tumbling from $120,600 to $84,000 for the first six months of the year. That is a decline of 30 percent. Excluding Cleveland, the countywide drop is 14 percent.

Rent and watch "11th Hour" by DiCaprio. A little soft, but powerful message. There is only ONE issue that is important, and it's the condition of our environment. The way we keep dumping sh!t into it, it really won't matter how high the Dow is in a few years... if the flood won't get you, the drought will. If you survive that, the heat waves, tornadoes and hurricanes will add some needed "entertainment". Add to that various lung disorders, cancers etc and the picture is beyond bleak.

It's so funny reading this blog. Unemployment is at 5.5% and you tools act like it's at 25.5%. In the 90s when Clinton was in office and unemployment was in the 5-6% range,

You are a complete idiot. I love when right-wingers show again and again how stupid they are. The unemployment calculation is adjusted every couple of years since the Raygun admin started doing it. Our real unemployment figure would be closer to 15% if we calculated as the EU does, as we did before Raygun. Goggle the birth death adjustment and see if you can figure what it means and how they come by it. Stop being such an idiot or at least stop adverting it so publicly.

I don't know tiny url, but go to this link:http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/narcode?OpenDocument&source=realtorclick on code of ethics in the paragraph 4 from the bottom and see if it gives you a 404 not found too?

Did you noticed that their were an increase number of NOTICE of TRUSTEE SALE in the classified section of your newspaper.

If you are seeing several pages of NOTICE of TRUSTEE SALE in the classified section day after day for many months then chances are your city is in the Middle Stage of the Housing Slump.

Have you noticed that there is a corelationship between NOTICE of TRUSTEE SALE and the unemployment rate in your city in the middle phase of the housing slump.

Just remember you will not get the best deal in the middle phase of the housing slump in a public auction unless that house is in a very bad location and that house needs allot of work.

Remember the best deal are between the ending phase of the housing slump and the beginning phase of a housing recovery.

In the beginning phase of the housing recovery Housing Price Affordability are at the highest.

A good rule of thumb is if the price of a median home in the city you work in is priced in such a way that an average family earning the median income in that city can qualify for a 20 percent down conventional loan using the standard "28/36 rule" then housing price affordability is high most likely at the highest.

The first number, 28, is the maximum percentage of your gross monthly income that the lender will allow for housing expenses. The total includes payments on the mortgage loan, mortgage insurance, fire insurance, property taxes, and homeowner’s association dues. This is usually called PITI, which stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.

The second number, 36, refers to the maximum percentage of your gross monthly income the lender will allow for housing expenses PLUS recurring debt. When they calculate your recurring debt, they will include credit card payments, child support, car loans, and other obligations that are not short-term.

In other words if the only way an average family earning the median income in your city can qualify for a median price home in your city using the 28% rule is to commute an hour alway for the equivalents home in your city then most likely your city is still in a housing slump.

uh oh, Keith, looks like obama is looking more and more like McLoser. this is out on the news services:---------------------------------

"Obama opened the door Thursday to altering his plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months based on what he hears from military commanders during his upcoming trip there. "

"He has said that if al-Qaida builds bases in Iraq, he would keep troops either in the country or the region to carry out "targeted strikes.""

Of course Obama looks like McCain. They belong to the same Israel/CFR/Corporate controlled Club. The supposed two-party system is such a transparent fraud that I am surprised someone as intelligent as Keith would buy into it. Time to unplug your mind.

Oh no gas is at $4 and so it must be the end of the world. Until you realize that as a % of your income gas is less than 1%. But that would require some actual thinking, which it appears that vast majority of people are incapable of doing.

No, it's a lot more for most people. Get a clue, shit-for-brains!

And you're not considering the ripple effects through the economy, you brainless bastard!

A California group submitted a proposal Monday to rename a sewage treatment plant after President Bush, calling the initiative a fitting tribute to the outgoing chief executive and the "mess" he'll leave behind.

The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco wants to switch the name of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

Supporters hoping to put the issue on the November ballot turned in more than 10,000 signatures to San Francisco election officials, organizer Brian McConnell said. The measure needs just over 7,000 valid names to qualify and McConnell expects to find out later this month whether they made it.

Proponents of the renaming plan see it as fitting tribute to a president they contend has plumbed the depths of incompetence.

"We think that it's important to remember our leaders in the right historical context," said McConnell, a member of the group that was formed after friends came up with the renaming idea.

"In President Bush's case, we think that we will be cleaning up a substantial mess for the next 10 or 20 years," he said. "The sewage treatment facility's job is to clean up a mess, so we think it's a fitting tribute."

The "mess," as supporters of the plan see it, includes the aftermath of the Iraq war and what they see as a neglect of domestic economic issues.

"What we're really doing is symbolizing the fact that as he leaves office, we'll begin the process of basically repairing damage and rebuilding our country's reputation," he said.

But others think the plan reeks.

The chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party has promised to fight the measure if it does make the ballot.

A call by The Associated Press to White House press officials was not returned. But Patrick Dorinson, a former spokesman for the California Republican Party now running a communications firm in Sacramento, called the measure "a horrible idea" that is "childish and it's stupid."

"This is why San Francisco is considered wacky," Dorinson said. "It makes me ashamed to be a San Franciscan if this is all they've got time to do."

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokesman Tony Winnicker says officials have bigger issues to deal with than the proposed initiative. He defended Oceanside as anything but a symbol of inadequacy.

"The plant that they're seeking to rename really offers extraordinary environmental benefits. Without it, raw sewage and storm water would flow into the bay and the oceans and the streets. That's not our understanding of what the authors of this initiative believe the current president has delivered," Winnicker said.

Still, he said, the commission is "trying to take it in stride and understand the humor behind it."

kind of unrelated, but i thought you all might find this amusing regarding everyone's favorite realtor connie degroot, the self-described "expert" in the real estate world...

it would appear that ms. degroot has only been selling real estate for five or so years. before that, she was a retail sales girl. before that, a failed singer/actress. she apparently employs a publicist, who lands her the news gigs.

wonder if fox or cnn are aware of exactly how "qualified"the "expert" they choose to put on the air really is???

Not only does Obama say he won't eliminate the deficit in his first term, as McCain aims to do, he frankly says he's not sure he'd bring it down at all in four years, considering his own spending plans.

"I do not make a promise that we can reduce it by 2013 because I think it is important for us to make some critical investments right now in America's families," Obama told reporters this week when asked if he'd match McCain's pledge.

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there you go. those hoping obama would bring fiscal responsibility to the white house should now realize that all obama tax increases would be spent on new programs and entitlements.

Lobbyists will be involved in writing the Democratic platform under Barack Obama, who has campaigned against special interest influence in Washington and bashed his rivals for accepting contributions from paid lobbyists.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

lobbyists writing the democrat platform...... WTF? I thought dems could think for themselves.

Lessons from the Great Depression - Jim Jubak:"When people my age -- I'm 57 -- or younger bandy about worries of a coming recession or even a depression, and I've heard a lot of that talk lately, I think we're playing parlor games.

We never lived through the Great Depression. Most of us have never even had an emotionally honest conversation with someone who did. I don't think we've got the foggiest idea what we're talking about when we worry about a global crash or glibly recommend stockpiling food and ammo.

Like children who have grown up in secure homes, we can indulge in a love for scary stories because, in our heart of hearts, we know the monsters will never get us."

I am now hearing reports that Wells Fargo might be in the works in acquiring Washington Mutual.

These reports are coming from both sides of management div. We shall see if it is speculation or if there will be an acquisition or merger.

I am also hearing reports of problems with accessing internet accounts for Wamu. I don't know if its related, but these reports were reported recently at Indymac Bank and you know what has happened there.

Keith, In light of the debacle at Fannie Mae, I thought you would enjoy this quote from Chairman of the Board Franklin Raines in the Fannie Mae Annual Report to Shareholders for 2000."Indeed, our 14 years of steady earnings growth demonstrates that Fannie Mae defies the conventional wisdom that financial company earnings are always sensitive to changes in the economy or interest rates."What a deal, a financial services company that's immune to the economy and interest rates!!

It's hard to believe that a company that has been run by cocky schmoes like this could collapse.

Figure 1 shows that the differential between the retail price of gasoline and the per-gallon cost of crude oil has recently dropped dramatically, leaving a much smaller margin to cover expenses and profit.

I can tell you what retail sales report will be for July. Down 10% or more.I have a little dress shop. Have not made $30 so far this month. No more checks from W. It has NEVER been this bad, EVER. Not even after 911. Talked to others, same story.After 9 years, am wondering wheather to cut and run.Scared.

I'm not saying we're anywhere near the bottom, but I think we might be at the begining of the end.

The 'unthinkable' things are happening:

1) Bond insurers are fatally wounded. Within 6 months, they'll be rated junk and in run off mode.2) Banks are staring to fail. It's days untill IndyMac goes, and takes a good chunk of the FDIC's liquidity with it.3) The GSEs are on the path to failing. The equity markets are looking closed to them... the taxpayers will need to explicity backstop them or they will fail.

Throw in the largest muni bankrupcy (Jefferson County, Al) scheduled in Sept... I think we're near a tipping point.

Don't even think about bottom calling anytime soon! These pressures will be ongoing for years to come.

Yeah we could just do bailouts like people keep saying.

Lets see...Fannie and FreddieFDICLehmanMorgan StanleyIndymacBofaSocial SecurityMedicareHomedebtorsGMFORDFarmersAbout thirty state budgetsWe can go on and on but when we put it all down it is impossible.

"Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in his bid for the 2008 presidential nomination."http://tinyurl.com/5jbkk7

He's also the co-author of "Dow 36,000". I kid you not.

If folks don't want to vote for Obama, fine, but please don't vote for McCain.

McCain has plainly stated that the economy is not his strong suit. So, he must rely on his advisers.

The "Dow 36,000" guy? Are you kidding me?

Phil Graham, who says called the current economic situation is "a mental crisis"?

SeattleTimes -- A former loan officer at a Bellevue mortgage company and his assistant have been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme that prosecutors say involved using straw buyers to purchase dozens of homes at inflated prices and siphoning off the extra cash for their own use.

Christopher Brooks and Amani Moss allegedly obtained more than $27 million in fraudulent loans for the purchase of at least 54 homes beginning in 2005, according to an indictment unsealed this morning.

The charges allege that they recruited straw buyers, who would allow the men to falsify loan papers for them. At the same time, Brooks and Moss would use a realtor, who is identified in the indictment by the initials "L.A.," to find home sellers who were willing to overstate the purchase price of their homes. The straw buyers were paid between $7,000 and $10,000 for each transaction, the indictment says.

Brooks, who worked for America Mortgage in Bellevue, would then prepare and submit the false loan papers to several lenders in the area, according to court papers.

The difference between the inflated price and the actual purchase price of the home ranged from $30,000 to $778,000 per home, and the charges allege that money was funneled through a business owned by Moss, Peachtree Development, and into their pockets.

OK fine, 4% or 5%. Point still stands, it's not the end of the world the way you think it is by listening to the news.

At 4 OR 5% of ones budget a 5% increase wouldn't seem like it would be such a big deal but, if gas were to go from 1$/gal to just only 2$/gal, thats a 100% increase in ones cost! Their budgets may not allow for costs to just keep increasing, especially at the frenetic rate gas prices have been going up. Now its at 4 (FOUR!) $/gal! And what if every one were to drive only 2500 miles/year(very conservative, we know this is WAY low) at an avg of 20 mpg then if gas prices were to go up 5% then we would immediately see 3 billion$ (as 3bln$ = 120,000,000, or the number of WORKING people in America, (arent I nice, I didn't even count the unemployed), spending 4$/gallon (the major cities where the majority of workers live, have higher prices like in CA, but Im being real nice here), for 125 gallons per year (what a joke how lowball that was, its gotta be WAY more than 125 gallons/year, but still $4 x 125 x 120,000,000 = 3 bln)sucked out of the economy in direct costs alone. True this is a very small amount compared to GDP, an amount that could be spent in the desert of Iraq in a single day but thats as low ball an estimate as I could make and doesn't even start to take the indirect costs into account because then you gotta figure the margin on farmers gets squeezed (they use gas guzzling tractors), and that has a trickle down effect, restaurants cost more, taxis and public transpo goes up in price (or the subsidies must increase, which is yours & my tax dollars), and what about all those tv's you buy from china? They gotta be shipped (we don't use steam engines anymore) and THEN trucked to your local neighborhood friendly wal-mart? Think they won't go up in price? With all these price increases, people tend to figure out that their salary isn't what it used to be, even tho in nominal figures it hasn't changed. We call this effect "inflation". Can u say it with me? "Inflation". One more time, "Inflation"... Then back to Asia, they have bought up our dollars on a MASSIVE scale. Think they want to see all the dollars they hold drop by even 1% due to inflation? Hell no. They at some point stop sucking up all those dollars. This has the effect to further inflation by driving import costs higher(remember that tv from wal-mart?) and further weakening our currency, which sort of starts a chain reaction or self feeding cylce. God forbid the heavenly kingdom shit dollar bills on us! And what do you think the people who sell us the oil will do if what we pay them in goes down in value? They will ask for more dollars if inflation eats at the value of what they could get for a barrel of the stuff! Then they ask for more dollars, and guess what that does to inflation? So we see that even though we do not DIRECTLY spend a whole lot on gasoline, even a small increase ends up putting alot of pressure on prices in other places. Small increases can be born by the populace fairly well, and even by other agents in the economy, but when the increases, though small come in wave after wave or increase in size, then something has gotta give, and prices go up. Now remember we started out with the assumption that energy (or here, gas) costs were only 4-5% of our budget and that it would increase by only 5%. Now think about it that not too long ago oil traded at $35/barrel. Now its $145! Thats over a 400% increase!! Way more than the 5% in our example, however the results of this little example are amplified that much more. FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT!?!? OMG I can't even believe it myself...-JDF

Come on Keith, when are you going to open your eyes and see Obama for what he really is (a radical socialist). Here is his quote today pushing Bush to sign the great housing bailout:

"I call on the administration to support this bill along with a second emergency stimulus package to jumpstart the economy and build on this important start to advance more rigorous measures to protect homeowners from foreclosure,"

Not only does he want to protect "homeowners" from foreclosure but he wants the already bankrupt US government to mail out more checks.

So when is the next "terrorist event" supposed to happen?-------------------------

A wise old man told me to stay clear of the big city on Monday 12-8-08.

Something to do with a key code containing multipe 3's and the alignment of the pentagon drawn in space by the orbits of Earth and Venus. Why all this mumbo jumbo? Cause the shadow powers behing the false flags belong to a cult that worships this stuff.

When I discovered this site about a year and a half ago or so, it came at a time where I was seriously looking to buy a house.

That is why I found it.

I almost bit and bought, because initially I wasn't ready to believe the doom and gloom and I wasn't that money savvy.

Thank God I found this site. I am still renting a nice home, with a big yard, near the ocean. My two kids don't know we are not rich, because they live in a house that, if I tried to buy it, would be far too expensive. So, we live in it instead.

I was poised to buy last year, and am more so able to now, but, of course wouldn't dream of putting my family in a risky, money sucking position.

Yeah, I guess the last two years I could have made some headway in paying off an expensive mortgage had I bought, but the way I figure it, Keith has single-handedly saved my family $50,000.00.

...you think I'm kidding?

When the time comes, I'll swoop down like a buzzard and snatch a nice home for my family.

...although I may have to wait 7 more years to buy, when it starts creating value.

I've seen some houses we were interested in buying go down 40K, just in the last year. We all know they will come down much, much further, so.....

Love the site; I check at least twice a day. I am still fairly young and after reading comments, I want to invest in tangible gold, but don't have alot of money to do at once. Are American Eagle coins ok to buy? Is Blanchard a safe place to buy from? Is their "accumulation" program (much like sharebuilder) a good idea? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I remember when I moved to LA three years ago, going out and looking at the then still frothy market here. I recall specifically looking at a condo in the Valley. It was priced at about 499k. (To the agent, I was definitely not a great find, as she was hoping to sell higher priced stuff...) But she told me I should put in an offer on this two bed, one bath generic condo. I asked her why.

"Because it is gonna go up ten percent at least in the next six months."

I looked at her askance. "Do you think that this stuff only goes up?" I was genuinely curious.

"Yes" she said with confidence and annoyance, "it only goes up."

It was at that moment I decided to rent.

I have made some dumb moves in the last few years, believe me. But buying that condo -which is possibly now worth about 280k, was not one of them.

Tom

Hey, forgive me in advance. I am creating a website to post owner financed real estate. It's under construction but I am throwing the site out there.

Yeah, I guess the last two years I could have made some headway in paying off an expensive mortgage had I bought, but the way I figure it, Keith has single-handedly saved my family $50,000.00.

You're a hopeless dumbass if you needed this site to realize that there was a housing bubble. You're saying it never occurred to you that people making $45,000 buying homes for $600,000 was not a good idea?

Anon said to another anon: "You're a hopeless dumbass if you needed this site to realize that there was a housing bubble. You're saying it never occurred to you that people making $45,000 buying homes for $600,000 was not a good idea?"

"Secretary Henry Paulson said the government is planning to expand its current line of credit to the two companies should they need to tap it and Treasury could buy equity captial in the companies — if needed. The moves will require congressional approval.

The Federal Reserve saids in a separate statement that it will lend to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if they need additional funds.

The plans also seek a "consultative role" for the Federal Reserve in any new regulatory framework eventually decided by Congress for Fannie and Freddie. The Fed's role would be to weigh in on setting capital requirements for the companies." http://tinyurl.com/68aaoo

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said your bank is save, yet IndyMac was not even on the list of 90 banks that was suppose to fail.

In other word IndyMac was not suppose to fail.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7649271

As of March 31, the FDIC had put 90 banking institutions with $26.3 billion of assets on its "problem list." This excluded IndyMac, which alone had about $32 billion of assets, and close to $19 billion of deposits.